Wait for My Voice

Theme song for the short story "The Day Silence Found a Name" at the end of "Understanding Modern Japanese Language Arts: Reading, Thinking, and Expressing Ideas in Your Own Words" I drew a line on the window light Where the morning almost spoke Kept my hands around a paper heart Like a secret made of smoke Everybody had an easy laugh Everybody knew their part I was counting all the unsent words Stacked like letters in the dark I was not far away I was standing near With a thousand little thoughts Trying not to disappear Wait for my voice It is coming through the rain Not loud, not fast But it is carrying my name Wait for my voice When the room gets quiet, stay I am not gone I am just finding my way Hold on Hold on There is a sky behind this noise I will reach you If you wait for my voice I learned to smile at the edge of things When the answer felt too wide Wrote the truth in a smaller hand So the fear could fit inside There are words that need a softer door There are wounds that need a chair There are moments when the heart comes late But it still wants to be there If I look down If I lose the thread Do not paint my silence cold Before you hear what I meant Wait for my voice It is rising past the blue Not sharp, not sure But it is walking back to you Wait for my voice When the streetlights start to glow I am still here There is more than you can know Hold on Hold on There is a bridge beneath this noise I will cross it If you wait for my voice Oh oh Give me one more second Oh oh I am learning how to say it Oh oh Every breath is a beginning Wait for my voice Wait for my voice Maybe I was scared of breaking What I had not learned to hold Maybe every almost-answer Was a window in the cold But I can leave a little sign A candle in the hall I can say, I need a moment I can say, I hear you call No, I am not empty No, I am not stone Somewhere under all this quiet I am growing into my own Wait for my voice It is brighter than the rain Not loud, not fast But it is carrying my name Wait for my voice When the room gets quiet, stay I am not gone I am just finding my way Wait for my voice When the world moves too soon I will meet you Underneath a patient moon Hold on Hold on There is a sky behind this noise I will reach you If you wait for my voice If I pause, I am still here If I shake, I am still near If the words take time to rise Keep a light in your eyes Wait for my voice Wait for my voice I am coming into sound One small step One true choice